As Lockdown Eases Gibraltar Passes New Law to Ensure Suspected Carriers Self Isolate

EVEN though, or perhaps because, the Gibraltar government is easing lockdown restrictions, it is still very alert to the dangers of coronavirus Covid-19 in what is a very small and heavily populated geographic area.

With numerous cross border workers entering each day, a tiny percentage of whom have been found to be carrying the virus, a new and quite restrictive law has been introduced which deals with screening and isolation.

This means that with immediate effect, anyone diagnosed with Covid-19 or who has been advised by the Gibraltar Health Authority (GHA) or the Director of Public Health to self-isolate must do so, staying in their residence at all times.

They will only be allowed out to visit a medical centre, to escape from their property in an emergency such as a fire and for other unspecified essential reasons.

The new legislation allows the Government to detain any person for up to 96 hours if it has reason to believe the person may be infected and therefore could pose an infection risk to others.

Rights granted under the new law allows the authorities to require that the detainee submits to medical examination and to answer questions about their health, discover who they have spent time with recently and restrict their movements.

There is a right of appeal as well as penalties in the event that the person detained does not comply fully with the requirements of the law.

Gibraltar currently has just seven diagnosed cases of Covid-19 of which four were detected amongst cross border workers, 147 recovered cases and no deaths to date.